The Paris Stock Exchange is heading towards a higher opening on Thursday, driven by the American Central Bank (Fed) which said it still plans three rate cuts this year, despite still high inflation.
The futures contract for the flagship CAC 40 index advanced by 0.90% around forty minutes before the opening of the session. On Wednesday, it fell 0.48% to finish at 8,161.41 points, after a record close on Tuesday (8,201.05 points).
On Wednesday, after the close of European markets, investors took note of the monetary policy decisions of the Fed, which left its rates unchanged, in the range 5.25%-5.50%, but which above all confirmed its intention to lower its key rates three times this year.
Investors were relieved and thanks to this, the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq ended at new historic records in the United States, comments John Plassard, investment specialist for Mirabaud.
Fed President Jerome Powell estimated during a press conference that inflation still remained high (3.2% over one, according to the CPI index) but he reiterated that he was convinced that it would persist over time. the 2% objective even if the road may be bumpy.
We are firmly committed to bringing inflation to 2% over time. This is our goal and we will achieve this goal. The markets believe we will succeed and we must believe it, he insisted.
Jerome Powell was careful not to give a specific direction on a rate cut in May or June but he also did not take advantage of the opportunity to reject this possibility, notes John Plassard.
The probability of a rate cut in June exceeded 75% after the meeting, while it was around 60% on Monday, underlines Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Rate cuts are also favorable for gold, which does not generate income, because they make other investments less attractive. The Fed’s announcements propelled the price of gold to a new all-time high above $2,200 per ounce on Thursday.
On the agenda of the session, the market will turn to the monetary policy decisions of the Bank of England, the Bank of Norway and the Swiss National Bank, and it will be necessary to monitor the March PMIs in Germany, in the euro, in Great Britain and the United States, adds John Plassard.
Among the values to follow
Aéroports de Paris (ADP): the CEO of ADP, Augustin de Romanet, will be retained in his position until the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games in order to guarantee (their) good organization but will not be renewed beyond that, announced Matignon Wednesday evening in a press release.